1 cup Japanese rice (sushi rice, short grain, etc.)
1/2 cup scallion, chopped
1/2 of a large red, yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup celery, finely chopped
1/4 cup carrot, finely chopped
6 tbsp (1/4 cup + 2 tbsp) miso paste
3/4 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 sheets of nori, lightly toasted and shredded (garnish and optional)
2 tablespoons black or white sesame seeds, toasted (garnish and optional)

Cook the rice however you like. I can’t cook rice on the stove top so I use a rice cooker. Perfect every time. When its done rinse it in cold water to cool it off and toss into the serving bowl. Add the vegetables. I pulverized the veggies in a food processor making quick work of it.

Wisk the remaining ingredients in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the rice and veggie mix. Now if a garnish is desired crumble/shred the nori over the salad and sprinkle with sesame seeds. But its good without it too.

The original said to serve it at room temperature. I did that as well as serving it cold, both were good.

I actually FINISHED something!  I love it.  More pics on flickr.

Yarn facts:

bellamoden sportweight superwash- (also avaiable at: The Loopy Ewe)

Nori colorway 1/4 sedimentary (artists proof)

Knit on US size 5 Signature Straight needles

I used the Cidermoon Pattern Isobel Scarf (link is to the PDF)

I just knit till I just about ran out of yarn.

INGREDIENTS:

* 16 oz extra-firm Tofu, pressed and drained

* 4 tablespoons good olive oil

* ½ tablespoon Szechuan chili sauce

* 1 tablespoon chili powder

* ½ tablespoon nori, crushed to a powder

* ½ tablespoon raw sesame seeds

* 1 teaspoon dried, ground lemon peel or ½ teaspoon of fresh lemon zest

* 1 teaspoon salt

* 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1.      Preheat oven to 350°.

2.      Cut Tofu in half both ways to make good sized cubes.  Lay cubes out into glass baking dish.

3.      Mix chili sauce and olive oil together.  Brush cubes generously with mixture.  Turn upside down so the oil part touches the dish.

4.      Mix the remaining dry ingredients.  Sprinkle evenly over cubes.  Press down a bit.

5.      Bake 30 minutes uncovered.

Tonight I made Vegetable Tofu Miso Soup served with fresh dinner rolls from Rustica Bakery around the corner, loaded up with homemade honey butter.    

 Yum!  D.Jones declared during dinner....."this just tastes healthy!"  The soup was really just carrots, celery, red pepper, and corn in a broth made from water and mellow brown rice miso.  I added nori and some tofu sauteed in sesame oil to make it a little heartier.  Cooper loves soup, but I wasn't sure he'd go for the mix of textures.  Turns out, he loved it!  I served his with small "Cooper-sized" asiago breadsticks, which he can't get enough of, and the only real thing he rejected was the nori.  I kinda knew that would happen from our prior trips to sushi bars so it really was my fault when he spit it out all over the table.  We were able to salvage his soup, though, by removing the nori, and he ate the rest of it, tofu and all.  Yay!  One success down!

This stint happened last January, the time when my hometown was noisily celebrating its fiesta called Sinulog. It just so happened that one of my officemates were celebrating his birthday on the same day. And so a bunch of us from the office decided to go to his house and experiment. In short, we decided to make maki! I apologize for the lack of better pictures here. I did not initially plan on posting this as a tutorial post. I promise I will have better tutorial posts next time. Vet has just invited me to go ahead and make use of her new oven in her new home. Right, Vet? *wink wink

Well, that story is for another time. I will have to convince Vet first that it is now perfectly all right to invite people to her new house, and I would have to save money to buy baking ingredients. LOL!

Ingredients:
Japanese rice
Nori sheets
Canned peaches and fresh mangoes
Cucumber
sliced omelete (or you could also call them "omelet strips")
Mayonnaise
You would also need:
Bamboo place mats (for rolling the nori sheets)
Soy sauce and wasabi paste (for the dip)

First, cook the Japanese rice the same way as you would ordinary rice. It would be most convenient if you use a rice cooker.

While the rice is still cooking, beat the eggs and make the omelet. Then, slice the cucumber, peaches, mangoes, and omelet into strips just like in the pictures below.

Next, get the bamboo mats and nori sheets. Put a nori sheet on top of a bamboo mat, then put some rice on the sheet. *Refer to the picture below

Next, put the rest of the yummy ingredients (those that we sliced into strips a while ago) on a small portion on one side of the sheet. *Refer to the picture below

Then, you put mayonnaise on top of the fruits, cucumber, and egg. *Refer to the picture below

Then, you roll the nori sheet. Make sure that you don't actually include the bamboo mat when you roll the nori sheet in.

And now the unsliced rolls

Of course, you slice them before you can have bite-size bits. This is so you can stuff a whole diameter in your mouth. Kidding! I just made that up. But it does look good when they're all sliced up. Look how pretty these are! These colorful rolls were delicious.

Well anyway, I hope that anyone out there who likes makis would get something out of this, however minute. By the way, I was not the one who actually made these tasty rolls. I just sliced some of the ingredients and then took pictures of people who were putting them all together. (I always have an excuse not to help when I'm carrying my camera. Kidding!) The rolls were courtesy of Cheryl, Dennis, Aileen, and Jenny. Thanks guys!

Aileen and Dencio were rolling makis while Edwin and Bhong were drooling. Hehe! Peace, Edwin.

Cheryl, looks embarrassed about something...can't remember what about.

Jenny and Dencio, still rolling makis. Whew!

(Left to right...then front) Liezel, Jenny, Dennis, Glenn, Cel, Edwin, Cheryl, and moi in front

Itadakimasu, everyone!

Poza mea este cu nori. Imi place sa stau in ploaie si sa admir razele de soare cum ies dintre nori. Vorba unui film: Daca vrei sa vezi curcubeul, trebuie sa suporti ploaia. Ma rog, mie imi place ploaia.
Eu am schimbari de dispozitie ca si vremea, sunt romantica exact ca razele de soare care mangaie pamantul izvorand dintre nori si uneori sunt intunecata si as vrea sa distrug totul in calea mea ca si o furtuna. Ma descrie perfect. :)

Ma bucur totusi ca s-au sinchisit ai mei sa bage internet pe Orange ca sa nu ma plictisesc in ultimul hal cand ei sunt la lucru.

Ah da, si voiam sa spun ca am supravietuit primului meu zbor cu avionul. O experienta pe care n-am s-o uit ever avand in vedere ca 3 ore mi-a fost rau si ma dispera galagia infernala care era in avion. Plus ca in spatele meu statea un copil care nu facea nimic altceva decat sa-mi zguduie mie scaunul. Nu de alta dar a considerat ca avionul nu a trecut prin destule turbulente asa ca a decis el sa mai faca altele. Singura chestie misto a fost cand m-am vazut printre nori, sus, pe acoperisul pamantului, cum imi place mie sa spun.

Anyway..deocamdata nu fac nimic altceva decat sa stau aiurea pe net si sa mor de cald si sa fac zece mii de dusuri pe zi si sa mananc nonstop. So..cheers!

First the man's

And mine. I added some snack peas, star shaped peanut butter with sugar free jelly, and edamame.

Aiureli, poate ti se par. Dar gandeste-te cand a fost ultima data in care iti venea sa zici nu si, la un zambet distanta, la un cuvant distanta, la o privire distanta, ai zis da. Sau, si mai mult, cand ai schimbat "nu stiu" cu "sunt convins". Sau "nu pot" cu "pot mult mai mult de-atat".

Si astfel, vine intrebarea, cand ne-am obisnuit cu gandul ca "nu" e mult mai usor de realizat decat "da"? Si de cand a devenit mai greu sa ne uitam in sus decat in jos? Si de ce nu ne uitam in sus decat cu mult efort (al nostru sau al altora) de a ne convinge ca ne putem indoi capul si mintea nu numai la 45 de grade in jos, ci si la 45 de grade in sus?

Cateodata, singurul lucru care lipseste este un strop de incredere. Si un cer senin. Si, daca ai zburat vreodata cu avionul, vei stii ca, chiar si deasupra celor mai intunecati nori, cerul e tot senin si straluceste. Numai sa treci de stratul des de nori pe care "nu" ti-l pune in cale.

Pant,  pant,  blooooow.

Breathe, Tracey, Breathe.

Yeah, I know-lame.   But, it's all I remember from my Lamaze classes... and I was desperate!  I was in the car.... and things were moving fast.... and getting bumpy...and slightly painful.   I had to think fast!

No- I wasn't in labor, maybe in emotional turmoil, but, not physical pain.  Because- my kid, was DRIVING.  It wasn't his driving, that was really the problem. It was me.  Sure, he cut a turn a bit too tight and made an interesting trench in the grass in front of CVS... But really- haven't we all done that once or twice?  (DOn't answer that.)

No- the problem was me.  Every parent feels like this at some point.  It could be when they are driving- or choosing their major, or career or lifepath or mate... the feeling of having NO CONTROL.  It is almost painful, scary and yet- watching your kid stretch and achieve and grow and learn requires it. 

How can they learn to be in control of themselves and their lives--- if they never get the chance to practice?

Here's the key for me---- see the truth is- I have never, really, been in control (shhh I know don't tell my kids) ... Really?  It's been God all along.

And you know what? Cheesy sounding,  or not- I trust His driving skillz:)

Also- for future reference-  knitting in the car while your kid drives is as helpful as Lamaze--- JUST enough distraction so you don't obsess and over react to everything.... but not so that you are watching. :)

Here's a perfect beautiful relaxing knit to take with you:)

The Isobel Pattern from Cidermoon

Bellamoden Yarns superwash Sport in "Nori" Colorway (Artists proof - 1/4 sedimentary)  Rebecca at Bellamoden yarns has an amazing sense of color and incredible dye-pot skills!  (I saw some in her Etsy shop- if you hurry it could still be there...)

Ok- so maybe NOT knititng in the car while the kiddo drives with the incredible Signature Needles I'm knitting this on.  'Cause metal needles + stiletto tips (how could I NOT love needles with stilettos?) + airbag would probably be very BAD....But- outside of driving practice...they are spectacular to knit with:) Fast- not too slippery, easy to knit lace--- and pretty to boot;) I'll be ordering more of these, in other sizes.  They are well worth the price- and the shipping was FAST. I was amazed!

For the record- these are US size 5- 10" long with stilletto tips:)

Red algae are not typically consumed fresh; they are instead dried and turned into thin sheets. The process actually resembles papermaking.

In Japan, it is common to toast nori before it is devoured. Toasted nori is referred to as ("yaki-nori". If a flavouring mixture is added in combination with the toasting process, the result is known as "ajitsuke-nori".

În concluzie, ca să îmi fii cel mai bun prieten, ca să mă prinzi în chingi, ca să nu renunţ niciodată la tine, trebuie să propulsezi, să iniţiezi o aberaţie în viaţa mea. De exemplu, aberaţia de a merge în mijlocul lui februarie la mare sau aberaţia de a avea un fes la fel ca el meu, un fes cu moţ, necomun, nemaiîntâlnit, dar pe care tu îl posezi în momentul în care eu, independent de tine, îl posed fiind absolut singură că e unic. Sau aberaţia de a intra în jocul meu în noaptea de Craciun şi să te plimbi o oră întreagă cu o sticlă de şampanie în mână între cinci străzi pe care eu, punct variabil, nefix mă plimb cu disperare şi supărată sperând, totuşi, să îmi intuieşti mişcarea următoare şi să mă găseşti.

Sau aberaţia de a merge cu mine la munte după ce m-ai văzit o singură dată în viaţa ta. Şi, da, muntele este şi el o aberaţie în viaţa mea. Pentru că automat mă face să uitat de tot şi de toate. La munte uit de mama, uit cum mă cheamă, uit dacă sunt veselă sau sunt tristă, uit că am un rol, că îl trăiesc conştient şi că mi-l asum.

Îmi pictez acum umbra

Să nu îi uit liniile

Când o să acopăr soarele cu mâna.

Îmi caut inspiraţia printre crăpăturile zidului

Care azi e mai rece ca niciodată.

Nu ştiu unde au fugit norii.

Trebuia să ne întâlnim sub copacul de mahon din curte.

Am aşteptat o oră şi am stat de vorbă cu soarele.

Mi-a zis că o să răsară în curând deziluziile:

Norii nu mai vin.

M-au uitat,

Aşa că acum îi simte altcineva pe buze.

M-am resemnat;

Mă îndrept  acum spre casă.

E agăţat un fulg de nea de clanţă.

Trec direct prin uşă, ca să nu fac valuri în somnul fulgului.

Aud vocile fibrelor de lemn

Şi trec totuşi nepăsătoare.

Mă zgârie pe faţă  aerul atât de rar din camera mea.

Deschid fereastra pe care îmi scriu zilnic jurnalul,

Lăsând gândurile să fugă la cer.

Văd câmpul dezgolit,

Care cerşeşte cu rugăciuni vişinii.

Nimic nu ajunge niciodată:

Mai vreau o zi de viaţă,

Aşa că închid ochii pentru următoarele 8 ceasuri…

I was inspired by Japanese ‘big rolls’, which are usually large (1 + 1/2 sheets of nori to wrap around) with an omelet center and other stuffing. This is a smaller, quicker, lazier version with all the fillings cooked together as one. Making nori rolls gets easier with practice and bamboo rolling mats. Also remember to use plastic wrap on the bamboo mat to help keep it clean.

Nori Egg Roll (3 rolls)

• 2 cups cooked sushi rice (1 cup raw)
• 3 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar (if unseasoned, add 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt)
• 3 sheets of nori
• 3 eggs
• oil for pan
• 1 1/2 cup raw baby spinach
• 4 shitake mushrooms
• 2 tsp mirin
• 3/4 tsp salt
• sesame seeds (optional)

1. Mix rice vinegar into warm (cooked) rice, set aside. Beat the eggs with half the salt in a bowl, set aside.
2. Cut mushrooms into thin strips and roughly chop up the spinach if the leaves are large.
3. Heat up a small pan (cast iron or nonstick 6-8in) medium high, add oil (2 tsp), then mushrooms, spinach, mirin and salt; cook until spinach is wilted.
4. Pour spinach mixture into bowl of beaten eggs and mix to combine.
5. Heat pan up again medium high, add more oil to coat pan. Pour eggs into pan, spread out the spinach and mushrooms.
6. When edges set after a minute or so, fold 2 opposite sides towards the center, ending with something rectangular in shape.
7. Turn heat low and finish cooking till it’s no longer runny in the center. You can try to flip it over or just put a lid on it for a minute or so. Cut egg into 3 equal long strips.
8. Spread 1/3 of the rice on 3/4 of the nori sheet.
9. Put a strip of egg on the part of the sheet with no rice.
10. Roll it up starting from the egg end, using the bamboo mat to roll and press.
11. Cut roll up into 6 or 8 pieces, and sprinkle on sesame seeds.

-L